A quarter of an hour more and they reached the yard of the 8 X 8. As Teddy and Roy alighted, they noticed that there was no sign of activity about the place. The yard was deserted.
“Told you they’d be out,” Teddy asserted, as the boys walked toward the door of the ranch house.
“Riding, most likely. Guess Mrs. Ball is in, though.”
Teddy rang the doorbell and waited. In a moment the door opened, and a large, jolly-faced woman greeted them with a smile.
“Come in, come in!” she said, beaming on them. “Glad you boys came over. Bug-Eye was saying only the other day that he wanted to ask you about a new kind of carburetor. Pete is out, but if you’ll sit down I’ll get you some milk and sandwiches. Guess you can eat?”
“Right the first time, Mrs. Ball,” Roy answered, with a grin. “But don’t go to any trouble. We’ve got to start right back—as soon as sis and Nell and Ethel are ready. They’re out riding, I suppose?”
A puzzled look came over Mrs. Ball’s face. She hesitated when halfway to the door, and turned.
“What do you mean, out riding?” she asked, curiously. “They’re at your place, aren’t they?”
“At our place!” Teddy echoed. He paled slightly. “I’m—I’m afraid I don’t understand you, Mrs. Ball. Why should they be at our place?”
“Why, you sent for them! You don’t mean to say—”